How Western countries ensure application of 'patriots-administering' principle

Germany

? Germany's Basic Law and Federal Civil Service Act stipulate that civil servants exercising the power relating to national sovereign affairs shall stand in a relationship of service and loyalty defined by public law. If civil servants engage in activities that violate the basic order of freedom and democracy as defined by the Constitution, or participate in activities that threaten the existence or security of the Federal Republic of Germany, they shall be deemed to have failed in their duties.

? According to Article 64 of the Federal Civil Service Act, civil servants must take an oath to protect the Basic Law (German Constitution) and all the laws applicable in Germany and faithfully fulfill their duties.

? German civil servants' special duty of loyalty to the country and its Constitution was confirmed and clarified by the Federal Constitutional Court in a judicial precedent in 1975. In practice, German civil servants are not only required to faithfully maintain the constitutional order to which they have sworn allegiance and not to participate in any activities that undermine the constitutional order, but also required to perform a higher degree of loyalty obligations, such as not participating in strikes or non-cooperative movements that weaken the efficiency of government operations, otherwise they will be regarded as violating service obligations and being disloyal to the government.

? Article 21 of Germany's Basic Law stipulates that parties that, by reason of their aims or the behavior of their adherents, seek to undermine or abolish the free democratic basic order or to endanger the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany shall be unconstitutional.

? Germany has set up a monitoring system to avoid, supervise and punish violations of loyalty obligations by its civil servants. Germany has adopted a series of laws and regulations, such as the Basic Law, the Federal Civil Service Act, the Federal Disciplinary Act and the Rules on Integrity, to supervise its civil servants' performance of their duties.